The Pop Star and the Dreamer

Adam turned up with the drinks, and we found a spot on the grass where we could watch the other acts. "Wow, this is pretty good," Kiara said.

"Good, it's fucking ace," Adam snapped back.

Adam kept going to the bar and bringing drinks. We were all pretty buzzed. In front of us, there were a couple of girls dancing. I watched on amused, Adam was almost drooling.

"Get up and dance with them," I snickered, giving him a shove.

"Yeah, go on, get up there." Kiara added.

He shook his head. For an outgoing guy, he could be a bit shy. Kiara and I both tried to push him, but he held back.

It was Kiara who noticed the girl taking sneaking glances at us, or should I say Adam. In the end, she sighed. "Sheesh, come on." She jumped up and moved in by the girls who moved aside to let her in.

I jumped up after watching them. As I got to my feet, I reached down, and pulled him up. "Come on, Adam."

He grimaced, but let me drag him into the circle. Kiara welcomed me with a kiss. One of the girls introduced herself. "Nash, isn't it? I'm Jemma. We loved your set; it was choice as."

"Thanks," I offered with a smile. Kiara took it as a chance to show them I was hers. She sidled into my arms, her body writhing and moving seductively.

Adam said loudly, "I'm going for another round. What do you girls want?"

Jemma gave him a sexy smile. "I'll come with. You won't be able to carry them all."

The rest of the night passed in a wonderful hazy memory.

After the last act, there were buses back into the city. Kiara sat close to me in the bus, our kisses getting deeper, the passion hard to hide.

We walked hand in hand up to my room. With the door closing, behind us, we descended into a passionate embrace that led us without words into the bedroom.

We made love with a wild unbridled urgency. That was followed up by a slower loving. Sleeping with her brought back lots of wonderful memories of similar nights when I had neither the courage or belief. Now, it was different. Now, I knew.

The next day, we woke clear headed. I felt her snuggling closer, wriggling and squirming. All it took was her beatific smile, and my heart melted all over again.

We went for a walk through the city, Kiara taking every opportunity to shop. There were some quirky little boutiques and second-hand clothing stores. We moved easily through the shoppers, nobody even noticing her.

We moved down to the beach and walked along hand in hand. "What are you going to do today?" I asked.

"I'm going to enjoy another day of sensational music. Dance, drink beer. I just want to have fun, enjoy."

"I could get you a VIP pass, that way you could get backstage."

She shook her head. "No, I'll be happy keeping Adam company."

"He's got a VIP ticket. He will probably want to brag and get Jemma one as well."

"No, I'll be happy out front. I'll just be happy dancing out front. I'll be the leader of the Nash Collins fan club."

As we walked in the cooling water of the Pacific ocean, my phone went. "Hey, Adam."

"Yo, bro. Where are you?"

"Down on the beach."

"Bro, we're gonna get some lunch if you want to join us." I passed the message to Kiara, who nodded.

"Yep, we'll meet you at Carl's Jr."

They were already there when we walked in. There were some nervous handshakes as we all got reacquainted. Jemma looked uneasy, and when I looked at Adam, he averted his eyes guiltily.

"Sorry, Nash, I told Jemma about Kiara."

"Fuck, Adam..."

Jemma interrupted. "It wasn't his fault, I sort of knew. I kept pushing."

She glanced at Kiara who pulled her into a hug. "No sweat. Hey, Jemma. I'm Kiara."

The hug intensified as Jemma looked like she was going to squeal in delight.

"Can we please keep this quiet?" I stated firmly.

"I promise," Jemma said softly.

We found a quiet booth and Kiara amazed them all with her glutinous appetite. "What?" she said with a laugh. "I love this shit."

I had to go back to the room and get ready. Afterward,e all jumped in the mini bus.

At the festival, I was greeted by the stage manager. "Nash, we've moved you up a spot for this evening. You will be going on fourth."

I nodded my agreement. "I'll trade that for two VIP tickets."

He nodded. "Got lucky, did you?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Back with the guys, I handed over the tickets and I thought Jemma was going to faint she was so excited.

"Oh my god. I have never been backstage."

Kiara giggled. "You'll love it. You meet all sorts back there."

I left them to wander around the stall holders while I got my guitar and gear out. As I was going over my tuning, Kiara appeared over my shoulder, her arms draping down, covering my chest. "You need a better guitar. This old thing is so beat up it looks like it will fall apart any moment."

"Go easy, she's my baby. Had her since I was seventeen. She might be beat up, but she sure sounds pretty."

She sat down beside me as I went over my set list. Kiara watched on, and I saw the scowl. "What?" I hissed questioningly.

"You have to start with My Baby's Eyes. I love that song."

"Maybe, but trust me, it's not that popular."

She shook her head. "I don't believe that. It is an amazing song. So full of life, so uplifting. Please, do it for me."

How the hell was I going to argue with that. "Yeah, fine."

As I rearranged my set list, she kept moving the songs. I gave her my "what the fuck" frown. She just smiled, whispering, "Trust me."

With everything ready, we walked back out front, to catch up with Adam, and Jemma. He had already got in a round of drinks.

We watched the first few acts, enjoying the late afternoon sun before I jumped up. "Sorry, I have to go and get ready." Kiara jumped up beside me. She drew me into a scintillating embrace, her lips burning mine with her intensity. "Good luck."

It was Jemma who asked, "Can we come up on the stage to watch?"

"Yeah, you'll be stuck in the wings, but you can still hear everything."

The last act before mine finished up, and I went through my routine as the stage hands cleared down all the excess gear.

The crowd was well warmed up by then. They yelled and screamed as if I was the star attraction. Setting up in front of the microphone, I took in a gulp of air. I started playing, just the guitar. The intro to My Baby's Eyes was soft, subtle. A finger picking pattern. I spoke over the top.

"Evening folks." The crowd cheered.

"I'm mixing up my set tonight because my girlfriend thinks I don't know what I'm doing."

There was a loud cheer and lots of laughter.

"I'm going to play a song that I love. I don't think it's the right song, but she told me I had to. I would like to know what y'all think."

As I started singing, the crowd started swaying slowly in time with the song. True to her word, there was Kiara, front and center singing along, surrounded by a throng of other girls.

I stared down into her eyes as I sung my love song to her. She swayed with the crowd, raised her arms in the air, and led the crowd in singing back at me.

As I let the last note hang, the crowd went wild, and I asked them all, "Okay, y'all what did you think, y'all like it?"

The cheer was enormous, and somebody shouted. "She's right, you're an idiot."

There was a lot of laughter as I spoke softly into the mic. "That song was written for the woman I love. It was written for her, about her and about my love for her."

Again there was more applause, this time, quieter, more sedate. Staring up into the sky, I called out loudly. "I love you Kiara."

The mention of her name brought out a chorus of screaming applause. I heard a girl somewhere in the crowd screaming. "We love you too, Kiara."

"Is that true? Do y'all love Kiara?"

The cheering got louder and louder. I think there was an expectation something was about to happen. Everybody in New Zealand knew our story. It had been emblazoned all over newspapers and media.

"Do y'all want to hear her sing some songs with me?" Of course, that drove the screaming into hyper-drive.

"Come on then, make some noise, god damn it. If y'all want her to come up here, then make her welcome."

I started the chant, screaming her name onto the mic. The chant was picked up, and grew its own voice. On and on, louder and more urgent.

I stared down into her eyes, and she shook her head slowly. She was nervous. Holy shit. She was feeling it.

I walked to the edge of the stage and knelt down. Reaching down my hand, I said, "Come on, babe."

The crowd surrounding her went quiet, and a little circle cleared all around her.

"Come on, babe. Don't leave me hanging. Please, don't hang me out to dry."

She grinned, the smile creasing her face. "You shit."

I laughed loudly, before addressing the crowd. "Folks, we're gonna need a hand here. If you want to hear her, then you gotta get her up here."

They understood. Gathering around her, she was instantly hoisted into the air. Bodies moved in underneath her, and she crowd surfed her way to the stage, the security guards clearing away the barricades.

She reached up for my hand, and I pulled hard, dragging her on stage.

She walked right up to me and kissed me passionately. In front of the mic, in front of the whole festival audience. She whispered those words. "I love you."

"And I love you."

The stage hands rushed around finding another mic and stand.

Wiping my eyes, which for some reason were wet. I said loudly. "Folks, this is the love of my life. Kiara"

She walked up beside me and raised her arms, waving to the riotous applause.

We started slowly, taking a couple of songs to find the old magic, but with the crowd singing along, we were elevated. Our voices meshed, we found our sweet spot.

With my last song finishing, the chanting and applause got so loud there was no way we were getting off that stage alive without an encore.

Then, sadly, it was over, and we were standing together in the wings, her arms around me so tightly. "God, why did you do that? It was your moment."

"It was a moment, that's for sure, but it wasn't mine. It was ours. Why wouldn't I want to share the greatest moment of my life with the woman I love the most."

Adam and Jemma chose that moment to jump on top of us. "Oh, mate, that was fucking awesome."

Jemma joined in. "I can't believe this is happening. That was too much."

We walked down, out into the audience, but now they knew, and we were swamped. I was a forgotten man as everybody wanted to talk to her, touch her. I thought she might freak, so Adam and I stayed either side of her.

Surprisingly, she took it in her stride. She had been in these situations a million times. For me it was a first, but for her, it was small potatoes.

It took ages to get through the crowd and to the bar tent. We got an ice bag full of beers and wandered up to the back of the crowd. Sprawled out on the ground, we slaked our thirst. People came and went all night. Kiara must have had to be in at least a thousand selfies.

It was all good-natured and fun. We were delivered a never ending procession of drinks. Everybody wanting their chance to say thanks.

Kiwi's are like that, such generous people.

The bus ride back to the hotel was fun. Now that everybody knew, we were surrounded.

In bed, we lay together and I had to ask, "What happens now?"

"You mean right now, or is this more of a metaphorical now?"

"I mean, tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that."

"I don't know, Nash. All I know is, I have never been this happy. I never want this moment to end."

I nodded happily. "Thank god. This has been so special. I want you in my life, Kiara. Not just today. I mean forever."

She nodded. "Then it's settled."

The next day was a little harder. Outside the hotel, there was a swarm of people, some of whom were news crews, and there were cameras everywhere. They pushed for interviews, statements, anything.

We wandered down to the main street and met Adam and Jemma. Again, we decided on Carl's Jr for our late breakfast.

There was no paying that day. Everything was on the house. Well, after Kiara had her photo taken with the staff and the owner's daughter.

The place was packed, everybody wanting to just get close, eat what she was eating.

I laughed at that one, as if they could. Adam and I combined couldn't eat what she did. When it came to food, she was a bottomless pit.

Being the last day of the festival, it started early and finished early. I was scheduled to go on at one-thirty, but as we finished up our breakfast, my phone buzzed. It was the promoter, asking if I could play a longer set.

"Yeah, I can probably do that." I chuckled listening to the guy. He was trying to find out if Kiara was going to join me again.

Kiara gave me a funny glare. "Do you want to join me on stage again?"

She giggled. "Try and keep me off it."

The crowd was in an expectant mood as they all gathered at the front. As I tuned my guitar, I asked, "Do you want to do a couple of your songs, as well?"

"I don't know, Nash. I have never sung them without a band."

"Yes you have, we played them together hundreds of times. Trust me, they'll love it."

She gave me a hug and kiss. "Let's just do your songs. See how it goes."

Walking out on stage this time was different: the crowd erupted as one, chanting our names, calling for us.

Like the day before, we started with the same songs, although by the time we were three songs in. I changed things up. I started playing Kiara's most popular song. She looked at me with a fearful scowl painted on her face. "Nash, no."

The crowd, though, were into it; they were already singing. Her goose was cooked.

I started singing, and she was forced to join in. This was raw, no layers of synths, no heavy drum and bass, no chorus of backing singers, just the two of us and my guitar.

It took her a few moments to find the feel; it had been eighteen months since we did these arrangements.

The crowd, they were in seventh heaven. They sang so loudly we were really only singing accompaniment.

Kiara was in shock. I don't think she expected this level of approval. She was wrong; they loved it. Their voices telling the story.

It was a moment in time, we were transported to a higher plane. Everybody felt the love.

It took us hours to come down. It took beer, and lots of it. The hotel turned out to be our haven.

We talked long into the night about what the future held, where we were going and how we were going to get there.

I only had a month or so left on my visa. I would have to apply for another extension, or leave the country.

"Nash, come home with me. I need you."

"You need good advice and a good manager. That's what you really need."

"God no. I have had enough of that. I want you. Please, with you by my side, we can do anything."

"I don't know, Kiara. I know nothing of being a manager."

"You know all we need to know. We can get legal advice. We could use your friend Dan. I'm sick of being cheated. I know I'll fall back without you."

"Kiara, I'm going to be there. That's not in doubt. I just don't want to fuck up your career."

"Nash, you heard that crowd. I never believed. I thought they would hate it. Ralph convinced me, but today. I saw a new way. I want to have days like that. Not all the time, but I want to be able to do that."

"Then let's do it. You're right. We can get advice."

"What am I going to do with Dylan?" She asked.

"Keep him. I'll look after the sandwiches. He can do all the other stuff. We will focus on getting good deals."

"You'll like him, although, he's a bit straight."

"Straight is good."

It felt weird being back home. I felt lost. LA... it was huge, people in a hurry, the traffic, the constant rush. Compared to Queenstown, this was a city on steroids.

At least we were able to get some peace at her place. With the gates locked, we managed to isolate ourselves from the maddening crowd.

Merchatto's trial now had a date, and the story was everywhere. He was in big trouble if public opinion was anything to go by.

We started talking to record labels. There was no shortage of interest. They all started from the same place. They wanted control, they wanted Kiara to focus on the tried and tested. She had an audience, and they didn't want to alienate them.

We started by making recordings of her new creations, stripped back. Keeping it basic, still poppy, still upbeat, but rawer. With a cutting edge.

The negotiations took a while, but eventually, they came around and we were able to get control and flexibility. Kiara would for the first time have full control over her sound, her songs.

Now, there was an added bonus: my music, something I had never been able to sell. With all the surrounding hype, though, I was pushed into the spotlight and they saw me as salable.

Funny thing, popularity. It's fleeting, here today, gone tomorrow.

We were going to have to ride it out.

Adam, he and I stayed in touch. We spoke once or twice a week. He always chastised me. "Mate, if you don't come back to work, they're gonna fire your lazy ass."

Dylan, who was a very cool guy, and I worked on putting together a tour. We wanted to get her back in the spotlight. It wasn't difficult, because she was perceived as a victim in Merchatto's lawsuit. We used the existing publicity to our advantage. The tour started in earnest, in New York, and proceeded around the country. She played her hits, but interspersed with some of the new songs, and the new direction.

Audiences loved her new songs, and the cut-back rawness. She paid me back, as well. For several shows, she started the night with a collection of our songs, and she dragged me out on stage to accompany her.

After the whistle-stop American tour, we went to Europe where she again played Glastonbury. That was the first time she played almost half of her set as the new songs.

It was tense, and stressful, but we got through it together. She was still fragile, mentally. I did my bit by ensuring she got her fill of fast food.

We finally got back to LA, and it was time to concentrate on her new album. I thought it might be a battle, but she knew what she wanted. She was learning to express herself, and was brave enough to say no when she wasn't happy.

The new album was a mix. It had some with just her and the piano, a couple of my newer songs, which were her playing keys, me on acoustic guitar, cello and violin.

A couple of tracks were with the full band. It was a new start, a new approach, and it sounded incredible.

"Let yourself go, embrace the sound. You can't sell bubblegum pop forever. You need to grow with the music," I told her.

Surprisingly, she did just that. She completely changed her appearance. It was less skin and more flowing voluminous garments.

That came from us receiving a video clip from the Rhythm and Vines Festival. She loved how she looked in the video: almost no makeup and the long swirling caftan.

I was also busy. I was offered a chance to record my own album, and I dived in. The songs, it was all about that small collection of songs. I loved it, and I even got Kiara to come in and sing with me.

I should have been happy, ecstatic, really. Unfortunately, there was an emptiness in my heart which I couldn't explain. I wasn't depressed, I just felt like something was missing.

Yeah, we lived in a mansion. My girlfriend, who was such a sexy delectable creature, fully sated my sexual and emotional needs.

We were in love, and lived that way. My album release was successful. Okay, it wasn't going to be a million seller, but it paid it's way. Kiara's album, as expected, was a best seller, but for the first time, not only in the pop charts, but the alternative crowd loved it.

It even made an appearance on the Country music charts.

With all that good news, why did I still feel this emptiness?